


Transformers: Shattered Cybertron

by LordDootium



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Action/Adventure, Evil autobots, Heroic Decepticons, Megatron is tired, Optimus Prime Needs a Hug, Prowl is just following orders, Shattered Glass, Tragedy/Comedy, Ultra Magnus is a glitch, and therapy, still bad at tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordDootium/pseuds/LordDootium
Summary: (Shattered Glass/ TFP) After fleeing an Autobot occupied Cybertron at the end of the war, the remaining Decepticons are scattered across the stars. In order to free their home world, it's gonna take more than a touch of luck for Megatron to reunite his fallen band of heroes.x-posted from my FF.Net account.
Relationships: Implied Elita One/Optimus Prime, Knockout/Breakdown, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Starscream&Thundercracker&Skywarp
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue: Evacuation

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, since I've started to use this site for my other story, I thought, why not post my other one here as well? The first chapter or two is a bit rocky, but hey, when your down, the only way is up, right?  
> Anyways, hope you all enjoy!

The fallen warrior stirred after a brief moment. ‘What had happened?’ he asked himself. He pressed himself up against the side of a crumbling defensive barrier, managing to stand himself up. Still dazed, he heard the distinct sound of null-ray guns and fusion cannons firing all around him. 

Looking around, he saw destruction everywhere. In the sky, dozens of fliers were engaged in ferocious combat, some even exploding from the amount of ammunition that was being pelted into them. And sprawled out around him, bodies. Even with the crumbled structures of the once grand city of Kaon scattered everywhere, there was nothing that could bury all the countless dead that were laid out before him. 

His commlink beeping to life, piercing the thunderous soundscape of war around him.

“Lord Megatron, do you read me?” A deep, mechanical voice stated. He pulled out a device from his sub-space, a small holographic communicator that only the highest ranking of Decepticons were entrusted with. Holding it out in front of him, he activated it. 

“I’m here, Shockwave. And I hope you have some good news.” He said as the hologram of his single-optic science officer flickered to life before him.

“Indeed, sir. The last of the refugee ships have taken off. I do not have long before we are out of communication range.”

Megatron grinned at this, knowing his plan to evacuate all non-combatants offworld had succeeded. “Excellent to hear,” the gray mech said with a half chuckle as he spoke. “Then I wish you safe passage on your exodus to Velocitron. Thankfully, they are in support of our cause.”

“And what of you, and the other members of high command?” Shockwave continued in his monotonous voice. “One would assume that you have your own pre-selected point destination as well?” “Yes, we do. And now that you mention it…” he trailed off, watching as three Seekers started flying low towards him. Transforming a few meters away, he saw that it was Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp, the commanders of his air forces. “...I believe it is time for us to be on our way.” Megatron finished, saluting at the hologram. “Until we meet again, Shockwave.”

“Affirmative, for my estimations indicate that we shall.” Shockwave returned a half-hearted salute, and dropped his end of the transmission. 

Megatron placed the device back into his subspace, and turned back to the Seeker Trine before him. 

“Well, you certainly took your time with that.” Starscream quipped as the Decepticon leader stepped towards them. “The Autobot forces are nearly at the warship.” His tone more serious now. “But you will be happy to know that we got everybody on board the Nemesis, boss!” Skywarp boomed from behind. Thundercracker facepalmed at the outburst of his brother, “Not while him and ‘Scream are talkin’, Warpy.” Starscream turned back, scowling at them. The two suddenly stood at attention, mouths shut. 

Megatron however smiled, “Do not worry, Starscream. We will be aboard our new home soon enough.” He turned, pressing against the area near his audials. “Soundwave, we require a ground bridge at our coordinates.” 

No reply, just as usual. But soon enough, a familiar whirling could be heard, and a few meters away, the portal opened. They all walked through, as the gateway closing behind them.

The flightdeck was in utter shambles. It seemed as if for every Vehicon taking off, two more came back, too injured to fight any longer. The booms of artillery fire came from the large guns that had been placed on the flightdeck, trying to shoot down any Autobot fliers or ships within range. When the four Decepticons emerged from the groundbridge, they were taken aback by the intensity of the carnage that surrounded their warship. 

All around them, soldiers were engaging the oncoming Autobot forces, holding off the enemy for as long as they could. In the distance, Devastator was wielding an Autobot ship, swatting away any and all who dared to oppose the mighty combiner. On the deck, the Stunticons were hauling crates of ammunition to the makeshift gun emplacements, with Breakdown helping Knockout get the injured inside to the medbay. 

Megatron looked to his second in command, “Starscream, how long can you hold them off for?”

The Vosian prince turned back to his leader, “For as long as there are Autobots to battle against, sir.” Starscream began his run down the flightdeck, activating his comms. “This is Air Commander Starscream, all available fliers, on me!” he called out, as he transformed and took flight into the smoke filled sky, towards the Autobot fleet. After a few moments, the remainder of his armada was at his side. Thundercracker, Skywarp, Dirge, and the few remaining Eradicons flew towards the approaching Autobot fleet bearing down on them from the North. Not having the time for drawn-out speeches, he uttered a simple sentence of encouragement.

“Send them back to the Pit.”

Megatron had finally reached the bridge of the  _ Nemesis _ , the place the Decepticon leader was needed the most. All around the vast room, Vehicons and bots worked away, preparing the shit for take-off. As Megatron reached the front of the bridge, a dark blue Vehicon with white markings walked up besides him. This was St-3V3. Or, as Shockwave’s designation theme went, ‘Standard (grounder), 3rd built of Vos’ 3rd batch.’ His paint scheme indicating his individuality. All Vehicons were sentient of course, each light purple soldier having their own tells and markings, but St-3v3 had proven to be the most courageous of them all, earning him a high rank. “Welcome back, sir. We were starting to get worried.” he said.

“You need not fear for my well being, St-3. Merely a rescue mission of the last of Kaon’s surviving forces.” Turning to Soundwave next, he asked. “How soon until we are ready for takeoff?”

The communications officer, still typing away on his terminal, half-turned to Megatron.

“Immediately,” came the synthesized sounding voice of the tall, slender mech.

“Very well then. Open up communications to all Decepticons.”

Soundwave’s digits tapped away at his terminal, turning to nod at his commander when the line was open.

“Attention all Decepticons. Return to the Nemesis, we are getting out of here.”

All ground forces had returned to the warship, and soon after, the  _ Nemesis _ began takeoff. It was a few minutes before the ship’s engines were at full power, and they were on their way into space.

Megatron stood outside the hangar on the flightdeck, waiting for Starscream and his armada to return. Looking out over the ruined planet they had called home, it saddened him knowing that it was unlikely for them to ever return.

Suddenly, his comms crackled to life, the sound of the Decepticon SIC on the other end.

“Lord Megatron, we are a few minutes out. However, there is bad news…”

“What is the problem, Starscream? Have we lost any more troops?” The gray mech’s voice giving away how on edge he was.

“No sir, worse. Much, much worse. The Autobots are giving chase.” The seeker’s voice began to quiver, “It.. It’s the  _ Ark _ , sir. Optimus Prime is onboard.” 

A few moments passed, and the last of the Decepticon air forces returned. Worse for ware, but alive. But as the  _ Nemesis _ began to pick up speed, exiting the smoke and chemical filled atmosphere of Cybertron. From up here, their world seemed so small. However, the view was soon obstructed, as a large rust-red and yellow warship pierced the skies in pursuit of the Decepticons. The  _ Ark _ was upon them.

Stepping back in shock, the Decepticons looked up at the capital ship of the Autobot fleet.

Activating his comms, he called out. “Decepticons, battle stations! We have been followed.”

With the order sent, the ship’s defences came to life, turrets and missile pods appearing out of the ship, opening fire upon the Autobot vessel, the exchange of laserfire illuminating both ships.

Megatron and the fliers also began to return fire, attempting to shoot down the rockets coming towards the warship.

After what seemed like an eternity, Megatron’s commlink came back online. “Spacebridge: Online. Escape: Imminent.” Soundwave said. “Excellent news, Soundwave.” Megatron replied.

“Sir, look!” Dirge shouted as he pointed up to the  _ Ark _ . Dropping from the ship was a dark purple and blue mech, and he was coming in fast. Wings as black as space spread out behind him, with a thruster guiding him down, landing on the flightdeck of the  _ Nemesis _ . 

“Megatron!” shouted Optimus Prime, the Autobot warlord. His dark, menacing red optics met the bright cobalt blue ones of Megatron. “Face me, coward! Or would you have me tear this ship apart myself?” Optimus began striding closer, Megatron did the same. Suddenly, the two broke out into a sprint. Megatron’s blade came down from under his fusion cannon, as Optimus reached for the Star Saber mounted on his back. The two large mechs finally met in the middle of the flightdeck, blades clashing against one another. 

Sparks flew as they both went back and forth with each other, as if they had entered into that of a ritual dance. Optimus lunging, Megatron dodging, the upper hand switching more times than could be counted. Having criss-crossed most of the deck, now having made their way to the very edge, with Megatron on the receiving end of Optimus’ fury. “What was that little saying you came up with again? ‘One shall stand, and one shall fall’ I believe. And now it seems we know who is who.” He raised his sword over the Decepticon commander, ready to deliver the final blow. “It does not have to be this way, Orion.” Megatron said, trying to appeal to the mech he once called brother. Optimus’ eyes lit up in rage, moving himself closer to his enemy, he retracted his battle mask. His face scarred from millenia of battle. “Never call me that again.”

Finally, his guard was down. Megatron acted fast, pounding his first into the abdomen of the Prime. Taken aback, his mask came back up. He tried to regain his composure, but it was too late. Megatron had now gotten around him, and was now the one distributing a great fury of blows, sending Optimus flying back. The Star Saber hit the ground, teetering on the edge of the deck. Megatron slammed his foot down, shaking the ground just enough to send the ancient weapon off the edge. Optimus reached out, but it was a doomed effort. His greatest source of power drifted out to space as the  _ Nemesis _ reached the Space Bridge. 

He leaped for it, trying to activate his jetpack, having not noticed it was damaged in battle. He reached back, grabbing hold to the edge of the ship. “Megatron… I yield! Have Mercy!” He pleaded, his false sincerity oozing from his tone. “You have had your chance, Optimus Prime.” Megatron raised his blade, and slashed down, cutting right through the elbow of his opponent. Optimus’ face filled with shock, as he fell down into the thrusters of the warship, and began drifting away.

Megatron watched on for but a few moments. He was pulled out of the trance of battle by the loud gunfire of the two warships, still locked in combat. He ran back to the hangar, opening up a weapons locker. “Skywarp, I require your assistance.” he called out. The silver and purple seeker ran over. Megatron handed him a large, strange looking device. “I need you to warp these down to the Space Bridge power supply. The timer is already set, but we haven't much time.”

“Yes sir!” he said, as he disappeared in a cloud of light. “The rest of you, back inside. Quickly!”

They rushed inside, just as a powerful blast hit the  _ Nemesis _ . The warship rocked to one side, some of the engines having been taken out. They reached the bridge just as Skywarp appeared besides them once again. 

“That’s everyone. Take us through.” Megatron said. The warship sped up, moving through the massive portal.

“H-hey Screamer… I’m not f-feeling too hot right now…” Skywarp stammered before he collapsed, energon leaking from many small holes in his frame.

“Dear Primus” The air commander yelped, picking up his injured brother. “Knockout, get the medbay ready for another patient. Stat!” Thundercracker shouted over the comms as the three brothers rushed out of the bridge.

The warship shook again, another engine blowout most likely.

“Sir, we can’t travel far like this. We have to land, and soon.” St-3v3 said. 

“I do not think we should be too concerned, for it seems we have reached our destination.” Megatron said, pointing out the windows of the bridge, towards the blue and green planet below them. “Bring us down somewhere remote. And brace for a rough landing!” He said to the bridge crew. Slowly and discreetly, they descended towards the world known as Earth.


	2. Arrival to Earth

Knockout slowly rose from the floor, having fallen flat on his aft during the  _ Nemesis’ _ landing. The sky blue cosmetic surgeon turned medic pushed himself up, the almost rhythmic blaring of the warship’s emergency alarms filling his thoughts, and only worsening an already bad headache. Looking to his left, he saw Breakdown, leaning against the wall next to the door of the medbay. “Morning.” He said jokingly, the big orange mech smiling up at his conjunx endura. To his right, he was met with the energon-covered body of Skywarp. “Oh, right.” he said out loud, not worrying about being judged for the lapse in his thoughts of his current patients. Their ship had just crashed on some backwater rock after all. He collected himself, standing back up on his own two pedes. Looking back down at his patient, he made sure his welds from earlier were holding. 

The seemingly unphased medic made his way over to a set of storage compartments, wondering just how hard they went down. ‘Enough to send most of them off to dreamland it seems,’ he thought to himself, looking at all the troops that were currently under his care. Opening up the cabinets, he pulled out a clean rag. He turned around, seeing Breakdown standing over Skywarp’s unconscious frame. “Any idea how long he’s gonna be out for, Knock?” Knockout walked back to the examination table, starting to wipe away the residual energon from the fallen seeker. “Well, given his current condition? Who knows. The last time I had to make this many welds, it was just to make the patient more respectable before burial.” 

Breakdown meandered around the medbay, making sure all who were injured were still stable, and helping whoever hadn't been knocked out cold. He was now starting to realise just how much of a mess the place was. Cabinets had flown open, leaving medical supplies strewn about the place. Vital equipment like Sparkrate Monitors and Emergency Energon Infusers lay broken on the floor. Thankfully, it seemed that the stasis pods containing the more severely damaged Decepticons were still intact. He made especially sure to check on three stasis pods in particular, where inside lay vaguely flier-like frames, their features barely distinguishable. 

Breakdown made his way back into the main room of the medbay, where he saw a very scratched and dented Starscream and Thundercracker, standing beside their comatose brother. 

*CRASH*

The huddled group of ‘cons turned to where the sound came from, figuring it was coming from beyond the door to the rest of the ship.“What in the-”

*THUD*

This time, the door itself started to dent a little. Occasionally, they would hear a crash and the clanging of metal on the other side.

“Breakdown, ya in there?” came a gravelly voice booming through the door.

“Yeah Motormaster, I'm here.” the assistant medic yelled back. “What’s going on out there? It sounds like you're tearing the ship apart!” 

“We are, kinda. When we crashed, we hit some pretty rocky terrain, tore up most of the bottom decks. The whole ship was shaking so hard, some of the beams came loose and got ya trapped in there.”

Knockout rolled his optics. “Great, not only are we practically out of medical supplies, we're stuck in here.” Suddenly, a thought came to him. “Oh scrap!” he yelled, running off towards the other room where the stasis pods were stored. Breakdown, knowing what he was getting at, nonchalantly strode up behind him. “Already checked up on our special patients, Knock. We’ve already lost so many, we aint about to lose these three.”

“Sorry, lose who, exactly?” Starscream interrupted, as he and Thundercracker entered the room. “Yeah, shouldn't this be something we should know? Isn't secrets amongst fellow officers an Autobot trait or something?” inquired Thundercracker, peering into the cloudy liquid that held the so-called ‘special patients’. Knockout looked uneasily at Breakdown, who simply shrugged. “Well, so long as Megatron doesn't reprimand us…” Knockout said. “Alright, fine. Just… brace yourselves, ok?” he stepped up, typing in something on each of the stasis pods’ terminals. The blurriness of them began to dissipate, revealing three different yet familiar ‘cons. Slipstream, Lugnut, and Blitzwing.

“What… h-how? They were lost back on Cybertron!” Starscream cried, throwing whatever composure he had left out of the airlock. “They quarantined themselves when they contracted a case of cosmic rust!”

“And a particularly bad string of it at that. I thought they went offline ages ago?” Thundercracker pondered aloud in a puzzled tone of voice, yet managing to remain much more calm than his brother. “So, how did you even manage to find them?” he continued, looking back over towards Knockout. “Surely they would have concealed their spark signature to keep away from the Autobots.”

“Believe it or not, big strong and stupid here’s blind loyalty to Megatron is what led us right to them. He left some long-winded video log about why and how the three contracted the disease, and the location of what he assumed was to become his place of eternal rest.” Knockout said with a sense of spite in his words. “The fools didn't want to end up being a burden on us, but even still, it’s not like we were running too low on supplies for them to be treated at the time.”

Thundercracker looked back at the three stasis-locked warriors, taking in what he could only assume to be rebuilt bodies. “Rust ate away their frames, right? That's why they look so… different.” “Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I was one of the finest cosmetics experts back on Velocitron. Fixing them was difficult, yes, but nothing I couldn't handle.” Knockout said, a smug look of pride across his face.

In the other room at this point, all of the troops present had come back online. Breakdown fetching the occasional thing for Knockout when anyone was particularly beat up. It was in this period that it was a sudden shock when the ship’s alarms went silent. Replaced by a crackle of static, the intercoms of the ship came to life, broadcasting Megatron’s voice. “Attention all Decepticons, as you have probably already deduced, we have crashed. I am ordering all available personnel to fan out, and help free anyone caught in the wreckage. Luckily it seems that no major part of the ship has broken off. However, due to the severity of the Autobots’ surprise attack on us, we are grounded on this planet, known as ‘Earth’, for the foreseeable future. Megatron out.”

Megatron slumped back down into his command chair in the center of the bridge, letting out a heavy vent, as if trying to release the pressure of the past few hours. Had it not been so early in what would have been a Cybertronian day, he would have graciously poured a round of high-grade for everyone, or something to take the edge off. ‘We did all that we could have,’ he thought to himself. ‘At least, what we could without stooping to the Autobots’ level.’ He opened up his optics again, looking up at the large screen in the front of the bridge, showing nothing but static. “Soundwave, do we have a visual of our surroundings?” “Imagery: Negative. Exterior camera status: Offline.” the tall mech replied, not even turning away from his terminal to answer. Behind him, Megatron heard the sound of footsteps, and small ones at that. Turning to look over his chair, he saw Rumble and Frenzy lifting up some of the floor paneling, getting at the central wiring and circuitry of the bridge. 

The two cassetticons, as if knowing of Megatron’s presence, turned and saw their leader looking down at them. “Oh, hey boss. Don’t mind us, just seeing if we can't get some more of the ship’s functions back online.” Rumble said as he set down a panel, and descended under the bridge. “He he, yeah, I'm sure we can fix somthin’ down there that would help. Don’t worry about a thing!” Frenzy shouted out, as he jumped down to follow after his twin. Megatron glanced towards Soundwave, an optic ridge raised in speculation. “Are you certain that they know what they are doing?” he inquired to the communications officer of few words. This time, Soundwave did turn to respond to his leader. “Affirmative. Frenzy and Rumble: minimizing damage.” 

Megatron simply nodded, turning his attention back to the small monitor attached to his chair. He punched in a few commands, and over the next hour or so started contacting various divisions around the ship.

…

“Well, it's bad, but I don't see the energon reactors melting down anytime soon!” Scrapper’s voice shouted over the comms, trying to get over the loud whirring of the engine room of the warship. A loud *CRASH* went off in the background, and as the whirring stopped, so did everything else, as the power went out. Megatron was trying so desperately not to shout out his frustrations, however he was glad that nobody could see his exasperated expression in the now pitch-blackness of the bridge. After a few minutes of waiting around, the lights and terminals of the ship came back to life, along with the comms line that Megatron and the leader of the Constructicons were on. “Real sorry about that one, sir. But somebody had the bright idea to go and shut the whole slagging thing off.” A clanging could be heard, as Scrapper threw a pipe in the direction of somebody. “Hey, watch that!” Mixmaster cried out in the distance. “I can't fix the Pit-forsaken thing if it's active. I might have a few screws loose, but I ain't crazy enough to risk damage by working on a giant reactor when it's online!”

…

“Ah, lord Megatron, it is so good to hear you again!” Starscream exclaimed, as if it had been millennia since they had last talked. “I can assure you that… most things are fine at the moment…” the air commander trailed off. Megatron could tell his mind was elsewhere, and he had a decent enough guess as to what. “And, Skywarp… is he going to make it?” “Yes, he… he’ll recover, in time. He’s conscious, thank Primus, but in a lot of pain. Knockout says he was wounded pretty badly though, shot right through his warp core.” ‘Right next to his T-Cog… the poor mech.’ Megatron thought to himself. “He won't be able to transform for months, and Knockout is uncertain as to whether he will ever be able to warp again.” After a long pause, Megatron said, “I’m so sorry… I should have never sent him down there to begin with.” Suddenly, a new voice was heard somewhere behind Starscream.

“Ah, come on now, boss. Surely I’d be the bigger fool for agreeing in that glitched plan of yours?” Skywarp’s weak voice chuckled. Megatron let out a vent of relief, glad to hear the seeker was energetic as always. Starscream leaned in, trying to not be overheard. “When were you going to tell me about our, ‘special patients’ Knockout brought along?” his tone much more annoyed. “Ah… you found out about them.” Megatron said after a pause. “I would have told you sooner, however we had only just discovered them before taking off. And that one only hindered further by the Autobots’ attempts to ground the Nemesis.” “Yes… of course. My apologies, Megatron.” 

...

“No sir, nothing unusual to report so far.” came St-3’s voice, trying to be as calm in a crisis as any bot could be. “A couple bad dings on most of the crew, some floors are without power still, but nothing that can't be fixed. But like you said to us all earlier, I don't see us being able to get airborne anytime soon,” his voice a little more solem, drawing out the last few words. “And what of you? How are you holding up?” Megatron asked, in a more gentle tone than what he usually commanded with. It felt like ages before the response came through. “I’m worried, sir. About us, about all who fled Cybertron, and about the population of this world, too.” “However do you mean?” Megatron inquired. “Well sir,” St-3 continued, “We may have escaped the Autobot’s wrath for now, but what about when they come looking for us? You saw the scanners same as we all did, sir. The natives are nowhere near as advanced as Cybertronians. Whoever already inhabits this world, they might be in danger because of us, and they wouldn't stand a chance against an invasion.” Megatron collected his thoughts for a moment, then said, “We will do what we can in order to prevent any other worlds from falling to the Autobots. We may have lost our home, but I refuse to let another species’ world come to ruin.” 

He would have gone on, about how he had plans to meet with some sort of native authority to sort things out. However, his attention was diverted when Dirge commed in. “Yes, Dirge? What’s going on?”

…

“Uh, well sir.” The bright yellow and gray conehead stammered. “It seems that the locals have found us.” he finished as, from sitting up on top of the flightdeck hangar, we watched as aircraft jetted on by, and various ground vehicles were driving up to the ship.

It was the Decepticon command, that being Megatron, Starscream, and St-3v3, along with some vehicon troops that would be conducting the official introductions. Soundwave was to stay onboard, patching into Laserbeak’s live video feed to observe as well. As the ramp on the side of the  _ Nemesis _ lowered down, bright sunlight flooded into the usually darkened ship. Slowly, they walked down the ramp and into the view of the many natives that surrounded them. “Well, they sure have some nice alt-modes.” St-3 commented, looking at all the varieties of vehicles that have encircled their ship. However, as if on cue from saying that, the doors of each armored vehicle flew open, as many small, organic bipedal creatures swarmed out, weapons trained on the much bigger Decepticons. “Care to take that one back?” Starscream muttered to St-3.

One of the small creatures, in a dark greenish-black combat uniform, held up some sort of vocal amplifier, and soon shouted, “Throw down your weapons, and put your hands up! I won't ask again!” Most of the Decepticons were taken aback, as yielding one’s armaments implied a military surrender. Megatron however, complied. He reached across to his right arm, and tossed his fusion cannon on the ground a few yards away, and proceeded to raise his hands over his head. “We do not wish to cause trouble, or bring anyone harm. For we are merely seeking refuge.” All of the much smaller creatures stared up at Megatron in confusion, as if not understanding him. 

“Oh, right…” the Decepticon commander said in an embarrassed tone. Soon enough, Soundwave had patched them in on what this native language, known as ‘English’ was. “Sorry about that, can you understand me now?” Megatron said, the new language feeling weird coming from him. “Yes yes, loud and clear, alien.” The ‘human’ in command said in an annoyed tone. “As I was saying,” Megatron continued. “I am Megatron of Tarn, leader of the Decepticons. Our faction has been exiled from our homeworld, Cybertron, after four million years of civil war. We only wish to live peacefully here, as we are but refuges lost to the stars.” Only Laserbeak had picked up the small creature saying something along the lines of ‘likely story’ under his breath. 

Just then, the sound of engines could be heard in the distance, along with a helicopter flying low overhead. The helicopter landed, alongside a white with blue and green coloring motorcycle, and some sort of law enforcement cruiser. From the helicopter stepped out another human, this one not in military uniform and of a darker body tone. “Damnit Bishop, stand down.” The human shouted angrily at this ‘Bishop’. He turned to the new arrival. “Ah, agent Fowler. What took you so long?” “Don’t be a smartass, ‘Silas’, or whatever your new codename is this time. I know you're not a fan of the ‘Cons, but our intel shows that they are the good guys.” He walked past Silas, and pushed past the barrier that had been hastily set up by the soldiers. 

As he got closer, he started to speak directly to the Decepticons. “Sorry about that, my colleague isn't that big a fan of Cybertronians. I am special agent William Fowler, of the United States military, and I can only assume you would be Megatron?”

“Yes, that is correct.” Megatron said, confused as to how this ‘Fowler’ knew about them. He knelt down, getting closer to the human. “What I do not understand is how you obtained this knowledge of us?” Agent Fowler grinned at the question, and turned and pointed to the Helicopter and the two vehicles that came with it.

On cue, the three began to shift, transforming into their bipedal forms. “Really, Megatron? I would have thought you would remember your scouting party. It’s only been, what, 40 years? 50, tops.” Barricade quipped at his commander. The helicopter, Blackout, looming tall over him, stood rigid and saluted. “It is an honor to see you again, Lord Megatron.” he deep voice boomed. The motorcycle had shifted into the ever familiar Airachnid, her extra legs held against her back. “Good to see you as always.” she said politely. 

Megatron could not hold back a smile, as he looked upon those who he had sent to Earth not too long ago to make first contact. “It is good to see that you all are well. However, we must get all official business over and done with before we can catch up,” said Megatron. He looked down to agent Fowler, asking, “Tell me, is there anywhere that we could discuss the situation further? Our ship is not currently suitable for such things.”

“Yes, of course. We constructed a military base around the wreck of your old ship, the Harbinger.” 

“Wreck, you say?” Megatron inquired, as himself and the rest of the Decepticons transformed, following the humans to their base.


	3. A New Quest

**Cybertron: One week after the Decepticon Exodus**

Far and away from the burned and scarred landscapes of where the past four million years of warfare had taken place, the Cybertronian capital of Iacon remains the most intact city on the planet. Many attempted sieges and surprise attacks by the Decepticons have been thwarted due to the large defensive walls and fortresses that surround the city. Along with the Autobot constructed defenses, a large area has been taken up by the once again dormant Metroplex, lying in wait for the day he is called upon once more. And across the whole of these outer defences, countless guards stood watch, in the event of a possible Decepticon assault.

In the streets of the inner city however, there was celebration taking place. All across the city, the hordes of unruly Autobots were getting themselves absolutely hammered on whatever drink they could find in celebration of what was deemed to be their victory over the Decepticons. Many bars and social houses had been open all through the nights in order to accommodate the countless numbers of Autobot soldiers who had returned to their capital.

In the centre of the city, in a large open park complex that was bordered by both the Grand Imperium, where the corrupt old senate once ruled, and the Iacon Hall of Records, there was an assembled crowd of ‘bots that were the most violent of all. In order to keep morale high, the Autobot general Ironhide, a large black and dark green warrior, had ordered for some of the Decepticon prisoners of war being dragged into the square, as to ‘make an example’ out of them.

Ironhide laughed loudly, as he threw the poor ‘con that had just received his beating back to the guards, dragging them away.

“Alright then, who’s got it comin’ to them next?” he cried out over the loud cheering of his soldiers, his red eyes aflame with elation. It took a while, but soon enough a pair of Elite Guards had dragged the next Decepticon up onto the large platform that Ironhide had set up, so that the crowds may see clearer. 

As they were brought up on the platform, the crowds now gazed upon the green and orange seeker that stood before them all. One of the Elite Guards, a junior officer as shown by his markings, hit the ‘con with the but of his rifle, knocking them to the ground.

“If I didn't know any better Smoky, I’d say you were havin’ just as much fun as I am.” Ironhide said, laughing at the seeker who barely held themselves up on their hands and knees.

“Well, what can I say?” Smokescreen said with a chuckle, “I learned from some of the best ‘bots around.”

Without warning, Ironhide reached down, and lifted the seeker by his shoulders, and presented him to the crowds of gathered Autobots.

“Allow me ta’ introduce our next piece of entertainment, Acid Storm!” he yelled out. A collection of applause and booing came from the crowd, who were clearly glad this particular ‘con was getting their serving of ‘justice’.

“He here is the last of the Decepti-creep’s ‘rainmakers’, and has melted countless thousands of ‘bots, and probably even some of you!” Ironhide continued jokingly, earning him some laughter.

“And we have a special game for him to play. What do ya’ say to that, ‘con?”

Acid Storm slowly turned his head up to look at Ironhide. “Get scrapped.” he said, spitting some drops of energon into Ironhide’s face.

“Yeah, I thought so,” Ironhide said, looking back to the crowd. “The rules are simple. We’ve strapped a tracking device to Acid’s frame. He has to evade us, flying I might add, for one hour, if he wants to live that is. In a dingy cell, yeah, but still, you'll live. Get shot down and can still walk away? We try again tomorrow. Try and fly out of the city? You're dead for sure.” Ironhide paused for a second, surveying the crowd. “And any ‘bot that does shoot him down, gets double rations for the next month!” This got the crowd fired up again, energon-lust visible in their optics. 

Ironhide grabbed Acid Storm’s wrists, and unlocked his stasis-cuffs. He stood back, waiting for their captured seeker to take flight. “Well, go on then. Fly!” He shouted angrily at Acid Storm. The gathered masses of semi-drunken troops had already gotten their weapons ready, and were waiting for the right time to fire.

“I said FLY, scrap for brains!” Ironhide yelled, firing a round into Acid Storm’s foot.

The green seeker jumped at the pain, screaming his vocals out. Looking down, he could see right through his foot. “Get fragged, Autobot!” He said spitefully, as he transformed, and quickly jetted off into the city.

If the tracker they had planted on him didn't give him away enough, it flashed a bright red light every couple of seconds, giving him away to anyone who saw. By now, hundreds of Autobots had caught word of Ironhide’s sadistic attempt at bloodsport, and had taken to the skies and streets of Iacon to chase down their prey.

Bobbing and weaving between the large opulent towers of the Cybertronian capital, Acid Storm flew faster than he had ever thought he could have gone. Diving down, he flew low over the main city streets. Autobots all around him opened fire, blasting either streetlights, other ‘bots, or just missing entirely and hitting the surrounding buildings. He pulled up, retaking his place high in the skyline of the sprawling metropolis. However, he had company soon enough. Out of nowhere, the Aerialbots had formed up behind him, and they were getting in close. 

“Go on, get after that ‘Con!” Silverbolt yelled at his squadron. “The last thing we need is to lose a chance at free high-grade.”

“Copy that, chief.” Air Raid said, as himself and Skydive got in close on both sides of Acid Storm, who had once again descended lower in the skyline, taking cover amongst the many buildings. Once the two pursuing Aerialbots got close enough, Acid Storm opened up the chemical compartments in his wings, spraying Air Raid and Skydive with acid, forcing them down to land. 

“Fine then, I’ll teach this Decepticon a lesson myself.” Silverbolt said, as he broke formation, and jetted off after his prey. However, the two seekers would not keep up this dance of predator and prey for much longer. As Acid Storm made a sharp turn, heading back out over the central plaza where he had first taken off from, Silverbolt let loose his missiles, no longer worrying about damaging any buildings. Acid Storm dived out of the way of the first missile, as it flew off aimlessly before detonating over the square. The second missile was what did him in. Before he knew it, it had struck his thrusters with a loud rumbling explosion. Acid Storm lost control, as he slammed against the side of the Grand Imperium, scraping away at it’s exterior walls, before he brought himself down.

“Ah scrap,” Ironhide said, as he ran to the crash site. “The boss bot aint gonna be too happy about this.”

After the execution of the old senate, the Grand Imperium had been converted into what some refer to as the Palace of the Prime. Within the central chamber, where corrupt senators and functionist councilmembers once plotted against the Cybertronian peoples, lies the throne room of Optimus Prime. In the place where the head senator once sat, a large, golden throne had been built, and draping down behind it, a large white banner with the dark purple Autobot symbol. On the floor, an ornate fresco of the Matrix of Leadership had been arranged in tile, and hanging all over the walls are ornate tapestries, showing fierce battles and mighty warriors.

From his throne, Optimus Prime had been enjoying some light reading, on what he considered to be a nice day. That was true, however, until he heard a loud explosion, and then a crash, somewhere outside of his palace. The large purple and blue warlord arose from his seat to find what had happened. After some time wandering the many hallways, he had found his way up into a watchtower, where two guards were surveying the central plaza. The two guards didn't notice at first, but when the Autobot Commander’s loud footsteps were right behind them, they could not mistake them for any other bot.

“L-lord Optimus,” One of the guards stammered. “What, may I ask, brings you here?”

“Perhaps you wish for the exquisite view your palace offers, my lord?” said the second guard, in a much less nervous tone.

“Such is the downside of my throne room, no windows to gaze upon my empire. However, I am here to inquire as to what that explosion was?” Optimus’ words were filled with concern, but maintained the frightening direness that made you worry that you had committed a capital crime.

The first guard, her hand shaking as she pointed to the amassed crowds in the middle of the plaza. “It’s General Ironhide, sir. He’s letting the troops have a little b-bit of ‘fun’ with the Decepticon prisoners.”

Optimus focused on the crowd, seeing his war-hardened general parrading some damaged seeker around. The metal railing bent and buckled in his hands, out of anger that he knew stopping Ironhide would only show weakness within himself.

“Always the brutal one,” Optimus said with a sigh. “But this time, at least it’s the prisoners he’s beating down.” And with that, he turned and left, the implication of his words hanging heavy with the two guards.

As Optimus was walking back to his throne room, his right arm began to act up, seizing in place. His replacement arm that Ratchet had built for him was identical to his old one, however it had yet to be painted to match his color scheme. Filled with rage at this minor annoyance, he clenched his left hand into a fist, and threw it towards one of the walls. He stopped, mere inches away from impact. He took in some deep vents for a few moments, and continued his walk back to his throne. 

When he arrived, there was a bot standing in the middle of the chamber, typing away on a datapad. The orange and black mech stood unwavering, medical symbols clear upon his shoulders. 

“Ah, there you are Optimus.” Ratchet said, glancing up from his datapad to greet him. “I had come to see how that arm of yours is, but I can see clearly that it’s malfunctioned again.” He said as he pointed towards the oddly positioned replacement arm.

The ever-imposing mech merely smiled at the seasoned doctor. “So it would seem, old friend. However, I am sure you can fix such a minor problem.” Optimus said as he sat back down again. 

Ratchet walked over, and opened up some paneling on the arm, and hooked up some wires with a handheld medical scanner, looking over the diagnostics and readings. Leaving the medic to his work, Optimus picked up the old book he had been reading with his good hand, and continued on. He had been reading an ancient journal, from the early days of Cybertronian civilization. The pages held stories of the heroic first Thirteen Primes, and the world they built after Unicron had been banished from Cybertron. 

About half an hour had passed by, when one of the palace guards approached Optimus.

“Lord Optimus, your mid-day appointments are waiting outside. Shall I send in the first of the bunch?” the guard said.

“Yes, I suppose so.” Optimus said with a heavy sigh, knowing full well who had been first on the list of the day’s visitors to him.

A few moments passed by, and soon enough, the sound of loud footsteps could be heard coming from the main hallway leading into the throne room. A large, robust mech with towering shoulders strided into the chamber. Their beige and black paint was scarred from millenia of battle, yet seemingly remained well kept. Ultra Magnus stood in the centre of the room, and gave a slight bow, and a fist-over-spark salute.

“My liege, it truly is an honor for you to allow me within-”

“Yes, yes, save the grovelling for later, Magnus. What is it that you wish to speak with me about?”

Ultra Magnus snapped back to his usual ridgid stance, his stern expression unwavering. “Sir, I have come to speak with you about the escaped members of the Decepticon high command. Surely we should have sent out ships to hunt them down by now?” 

Optimus glared at Ultra Magnus, having now reminded him of that fateful day not too long ago, when the Decepticons destroyed the only functional space bridge the Autobots had.

“And how, pray tell, do you plan on getting to them? Perceptor is not even sure he can repair the space bridge, and the city speaker I have sent for to repair Metroplex has yet to arrive from Caminus. We may have their destination coordinations, Magnus, but in case you had not noticed, we lack the means of getting to them.” Optimus finished, in an annoyed tone. 

The Autobot commander stood up from his throne, and looked to one of the hallways leading off from the room. With a small chuckle, he called out, “I know you are there, you two. No need to hide.”

Slowly creeping out from behind the corner, came two young bots. One of them, the taller and clearly older, if not by much of the two, had a dark purple that matched Optimus’, and black highlights splashed across his body. The second, slightly smaller one was pitch-black all over, with a few marks of a bright yellow. What stood out the most of this one though, was his bright blue optics.

“Sorry for snooping, sire. Bumblebee and I just wanted a closer look at what your job is like…” the purple one said, embarrassingly. Optimus only laughed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “You need not apologize, Rodimus. It is only natural for you to be interested, as one day you shall find yourself in my place.”

***But sire, we do have some good news for you!*** Bumblebee buzzed cheerfully.

“Oh, yeah, that's right!” Rodimus said, taking a moment to remember. “That’s kinda why we came here in the first place.”

“Well, what news might that be, young ones?” Optimus said, as he sat back down.

“My warship, the Lost Light, thanks again for giving it to me Magnus, has recently gotten a few upgrades that could really help us chase down Megatron and the rest of his Decepticon goons.” Rodimus said, unable to contain his excitement. “We managed to get Brainstorm, one of Perceptor's assistants, to hook up some sort of quantum-drive-doohickey to our main engines, and as long as we have a set direction to go, we can warp ourselves without a spacebridge!”

Optimus considered this for a moment, knowing full well to never pass up such an opportunity, especially one to capture his long-time rival.

“Very well then Rodimus, you have my blessing to conduct this mission of yours. Take whomever you wish, so long as you manage to bring me those Decepticons, alive or dead. After all, we must avenge all who have fallen, including your dearest carrier.” Optimus mused, as he gestured to his right, where on the far wall was a brilliantly painted tapestry of the black and magenta warrior Elita One, surrounded by intricate patterns.

“Thank you sire. We won't let you down.” Rodimus said, in a more serious voice, as he and Bumblebee left to prepare.

At the spaceport of Iacon, Rodimus had been going over the mission plans with his crew, whilst Bumblebee was assisting in recruitment and obtaining supplies. Much to the annoyance of the two brothers, Ultra Magnus had insisted on joining them. Seemingly unable to dissuade him from the notion, they begrudgingly agreed to allow him on the mission. 

The bot in question was busy shouting commands to the many lower-ranked soldiers and Autotroopers in the cargo hold, trying to maintain control as always. 

“You know, you’d be a lot more popular with the troops f you weren't such a hard-aft on everyone,” a voice said from behind him.

“Ah, Prowl, how am I not surprised that the master tactician would find a way on to this vessel.” Ultra Magnus said, looking back over his shoulder at the Autobot’s chief of security.

“Prime’s orders. I am here to report directly back to him. And to make sure nobody goes rogue during this ‘Decepticon hunt’ as he said.”

“Always the favorite of Optimus’, aren't you? Surprised he didn't take you in like he did that disabled scout.” Ultra Magnus said, fully facing him now.

“Because he knows I don't scheme my way up the chain of command, unlike you,” Prowl said. He turned to walk out of the cargo hold, he turned back for just a second, saying, “Just remember, Rodimus is in charge here. Don't make me have to tell Optimus a certain somebot thought otherwise.” With that, he finally left, leaving the disgruntled Ultra Magnus be.

“This is going to be a long trip…” he said to nobody in particular. Looking up, he noticed that some Autotroopers had stopped and watched. 

“Uh, Get back to work!” he yelled, as he stalked off elsewhere.


	4. Contact Part 1

It had been well over a month since the  _ Nemesis _ had gone down in what the Decepticons now know as the Nevada desert. Luckily for them, the crash was in fairly close proximity to a human military base that had been setup to shield the downed Decepticon cargo ship, the  _ Harbinger _ , and so now Megatron’s half-functional capital ship was hidden behind restricted lines as well. In this short period of time since their arrival, the Decepticons had taken on Earth alternate modes, as agent Fowler had made it explicit that they had to keep their presence on Earth a secret.

Now that the Decepticons had acclimated to their directive of being “robots in disguise”, there was little more to do other than scouting for energon, of which the planet had been seeded with plenty of the stuff a long time ago, and keeping an ever watchful optic on the sky above, incase any Autobot ships came looking for them.

Driving across the back roads of the Nevada deserts, Airachnid was out on one of her usual patrols around the vicinity of their crashed base of operations. She had been on this planet long enough to have already taken in many of the sights, natural and human-made, but she had always been partial to their base’s location. 

She had been away from base for no more than an hour or two at this point, enjoying her peaceful patrol in solitude, only having to comm a report back to base whenever Soundwave or St-3 checked in on her. Airachnid found it funny, really. For so long, it had been just been their little scouting party, of Barricade, Blackout, and herself here on Earth, sometimes going days without contacting each other. Now, with the arrival of the Decepticon top brass, they slowly had to return to the standard protocol.

“Well, it sure sounds nice that you guys had the run of the place,” St-3 crackled over the comms back to her, during one such routine check-in. “I’m not surprised you did, though. If I was an Autobot, I would steer clear of any solar system that had three of the finest Decepticon warriors in it!”

“Yeah? You’re not too bad yourself. What was that story you always tell? The one about how you and your batalion defended an entire city for 700 years.”

“Eh, beginner's luck. My troops and I had just completed basic training, and happened to be in the area when we caught word of the Autobots breaking through the front lines.”

“Always the modest one,” Airachnid chuckled. However, she wouldn't be laughing for much longer.

As Airachnid came turn off the road she was on, now headings towards a human town, she activated her holomatter avatar, and rolled down the streets of Jasper, Nevada. As she turned down a street, close to the centre of the somewhat-small town, two black and dark purple muscle cars came out of nowhere, and started following her. She looked back, noticing that they had Autobot insignia on their grills. 

“Autobots finally showed up, huh? Lets see if we can't shake em’.” She said, as she turned down another street, and then again at random. Once she thought that she had confused them enough, she pulled into what the humans called a “drive-in” and let her holomatter avatar dissipate. Just then, she realised that she wasn't alone. Sitting at a table nearby was two young humans, who thankfully paid her no mind.

… 

“Alright, that's the basics on advanced geometry. Any questions Miko?... Miko, were you even paying attention?” a young boy in a yellow sweater with brown hair said annoyedly. The girl who he had been talking with, was plucking at the strings of her guitar in boredom. She had streaks of bright red in her hair and a shirt of some rock band. Miko looked up from her guitar, and pulled off her headphones.

“Yeah, yeah, I was listening to ya’, Raf. I was just hoping that you would have made it less, you know, boring!” she exclaimed.

“Well, how would you have liked to learn the material? A rock ballad about it?”

“Ew, no! That sounds like something they would play on some cheap kids show.”

Raf sighed, as he picked up his bag and got up. “Well, I gotta go Miko. See you at school tomorrow. And remember what I said,”

“Yes.‘Study, study, study.’ Hard to forget.” Miko said with a small laugh, as she picked up her own belongings and left soon after.

‘What a relief,’ Airachnid thought to herself, as she let out a heavy vent, glad that they never even gave her a glance. As she observed the surrounding area, she determined that it was time to get going again. Before she could, another human, slightly older than the other two, stepped out of the drive in she was parked at. He brushed something off is his clothing, and pulled out his phone. “Hi mom… yeah, work went fine… I’ll be home soon… Be careful, really? This is Jasper, what kind of things could happen here?”

Placing his phone back into his pocket, Jack started to walk back home after his tiring shift at work. Just as Airachnid had thought he hadn't seen her, he turned and couldn't take his eyes off of her. “Hello beautiful, where have you been all my life?” he exclaimed as he walked up to the motorcycle. He ran his hands over the handlebars, than took a seat. “You’re incredible. As much as I want to, I’m not sure if I am ready to take a ride on a masterpiece like you.”

‘By Primus, is this how all humans treat their vehicles?’ Airachnid thought to herself.

“Are you really talking to your motorbike, Jack?” a new voice said.

Jack looked up, meeting the eyes of an amused looking girl about his age.

“Talking to it?... No no no, and it’s not mine. Just admiring it, that's all. How are you Sierra?” Jack quickly stammered, trying, and somewhat succeeding, to act casual.

“Same-old, same-old, I guess.” she said with a shrug. “Not like theres anything new or exciting in Jasper anyways.”

Suddenly, the roar of engines was heard, as two dark colored muscle cars pulled into the parking lot, and shined their high-beams onto the two teenages and the robot in disguise next to them. As the two cars charged at them, Sierra ran out of their way. Airachnid, however, bolted off, with Jack still in the seat. She charged right towards the two attackers, and scraped right between them, sparks flying as their metal bodies ran across each other.

As they darted down the street, Jack finally came to his senses, and cried out, “What’s going on?!”

“Do not let go!” Airachnid snapped at him.

“Who said that?” Jack exclaimed, looking around for where the voice could have come from.

The two Autobots finally caught up to them both, each on either side of Airachnid and her stowaway human. Airachnid caught on fast, and braked hard, getting behind the two, letting them slam right into each other. With their pursuers in a daze, she quickly ducked into an alleyway.

Jack jumped off the sentient motorcycle, and stared at it in confusion.

“What even are you?” he asked shakily.

“I don't exist,” Airachnid quickly snapped, “If you tell anyone about me, I will hunt you down.”

Scared out of his mind, Jack ran off down another alleyway, as the two Autobots finally caught up to Airachnid. Looking back, she noticed one of them duck down the path that the human had taken. 

“Scrap” she said, as she turned back around to try and save the human. She revved up, and used the Autotrooper as a ramp, jumping right over them. Driving down the same alley she had seen Jack and the other Autotrooper go down, she saw the two up ahead. The dark muscle car was ramming past everything in its path, gaining ground on the helpless human. 

Airachnid maneuvered around the Autobot, and got up bedies Jack.

“Hop on!” She said. He quickly followed suit, and the two sped away as their pursuers regrouped, and continued the chase. Nearing the open freeway, the two Autobots transformed parts of their front end, revealing blasters, and began to open fire upon the Decepticon and her unwitting human accomplice.

“Why are those guys shooting at us?” Jack yelled out over the noise of the busy freeway.

“There's no ‘us’, kid. And those aren't guys.” Airachnid replied sternly.

As Airachnid bobbed and weaved in between traffic, the two Autobots were brutishly pushing ramming aside any vehicles in their way. Coming up behind them however, was another muscle car, not too much unlike them, in a vibrant blue, with white racing stripes over it. The newcomer crashed right into one of the Autotroopers, sending all three of them spinning out. This blue muscle car, as if just to show off, kicked into reverse, and managed to brake and turn back to catch up with the white motorcycle.

“A friend of yours?” Jack asked hastily, looking back at the newcomer.

“Family,” Airachnid replied, in a more gentle tone than before.

…

Raf, still having some spare time that day, had gone down the street from his home to race his RC car under the bridge. He was enjoying himself, making general race car sounds as he steered around a miniature obstacle course he set up.

He was pulled from his own little world, as he heard the sound of an engine roaring, and it was getting close. Very close. He looked up just in time to see a white motorcycle fly right over his head, and land only a few yards away.

Dumbfounded at what he saw, he dropped his controller, simply saying, “Woah,” with a look of amazement on his face.

Jack, looking up at the younger boy, sighed. “You have… no idea” he huffed, as he caught his breath from all the excitement he had gone through, slowly getting off of the motorcycle. 

Just then, the same two dark muscle cars came roaring down the hill. As they descended, they transformed mid-air, revealing themselves to the humans.

Then, the motorbike transformed as well, revealing a smaller looking robot than the Autotroopers. 

“This ends here, Autobots.” She said, as she began charging towards them. The two Autotroopers opened fire, their bright red laser blasts focused on the lone Decepticon. Airachnid kept running at them, miraculously dodging their storm of blaster fire. As she got close, she leapt up into the air, and came crashing down on one. She flipped back, and kicked the other Autotrooper in the face, and started to go to town on them. She almost felt bad for the poor fraggers, they must not have known how skilled of a warrior they would be up against.

Meanwhile, the two young humans watched from the sidelines, in awe of what they were witnessing. 

“What are they?” Raf asked.

“Talking cars that turn into robots. Or the other way around.” Jack replied, neither of them taking their eyes off the fight taking place before them.

Just as Airachnid had thought she had beaten her opponents, they both got back up, and opened fire once more. She began to leap backwards, trying to avoid being hit, but a shot got her right in her chest, knocking her down.

Then, from up above on the freeway, the same blue muscle car as before came speeding off the edge of the bridge, and transformed, revealing a vaguely similar, yet distinctly different build to that of the Autotroopers, landing right on top of one of the Autobot attackers, and slammed his fist right into the face of the other one.

Stepping back from his handiwork, he heard a crunch under his foot. He tensed up a little, and looked down under himself. It was Raf’s RC toy that had been crushed.

“Ah scrap. Sorry about that, kid.” St-3 said apologetically.

“It’s no problem, really.” Raf said.

Just then however, the blue Decepticon took a large blast to the chest, and was sent flying. The two Autobots approached, looming over St-3 as he was pinned down.

“Leave him alone!” Raf shouted out, in a moment of bravery. The two assailants looked over to where he was. “Please?…” he continued, meekly.

One of the Autotroopers started to walk over to where the humans were, as Jack and Raf started to run away. Luckily, there was a drainage pipe nearby, and they reached it just in time. The large dark robot reached inside to grab them, but was thwarted when St-3 finally took them down.

Looking back as he continued to run, Raf only managed to say, “Thank you,” back to the large blue warrior.

… 

While St-3 was taking care of the safety of the two humans, Airachnid had been just barely holding off the second Autobot. The two Decepticons were cornered, in a battle of even match. Then, the blaring of a horn could be heard, as a big orange armored truck drove right into one of the Autobots, offlining them instantly. Breakdown transformed, and shifted his left hand into a large hammer.

“Trust me, ‘Bot. If you don't wanna end up like your friend here, you’d better scram.”

With that, the last Autotrooper looked to his fallen comrade, and transformed, speeding away.

Back onboard the  _ Nemesis _ , Airachnid and St-3 were reporting on the day’s situation. And as was expected, Megatron was not taking the news of the Autobots’ arrival on Earth all too well. In fact, as soon as the mere mention of their presence came up, he dropped everything, and doubled Decepticon patrols around the globe. When he had finished distributing his new set of orders, he resumed with the briefing.

“And I belive you mentioned something about a human, Airachnid?” Megatron said, turning to the two who had been involved in the event.

“Two boys, to be exact.” St-3 chimed in from his seat at their makeshift meeting room, in the next room over from the bridge of the warship.

“I guess the second one caught us in action?... I dunno, was a little preoccupied at the time.” Airachnid said.

Megatron hung his head down, pondering something. After a few moments, he looked up to them again. “If the Autobots have truly arrived at full force, then anyone perceived as our ally will be at grave risk…”

It was the day after the ‘event’, as Jack walked down the steps of his high school, after a long and boring day of classes. Just as he reached the bottom of the steps, something caught his eye. Raf was waving at him to come over. 

“Raf, hey.” he said, waving at him. “Look, lets just keep this between us and forget anything ever happened, ok?” But before he could continue, Raf pointed out the same blue and white muscle car from the day before.

“Jack, look!” Raf exclaimed, as it pulled up alongside the two of them. The passenger side door swung open, revealing a young man in a dark pants, gray shirt, and a dark blue and white jacket that resembled the car’s paint job, and his eyes were hidden behind blue tinted sunglasses. But as soon as it appeared, a few seconds later, the person in the driver's seat was gone.

“Don't worry kid, nothing but a hologram. Hop in, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Well, I’d rather not go anywhere with you.” Jack said cautiously.

St-3 chuckled at this. “Don't worry, you won't be. Your ride is over there.”

With that, Jack turned around, seeing the ever familiar white and gray motorcycle from yesterday.

Jack sighed, mumbling some obscenity under his breath. “Look, I really don't that-”

“How's it going?” Raf asked, cutting off Jack as he closed the door, and drove off with St-3.

He turned back, looking at the mysterious motorcycle that has entered his life. He stood there a few moments, staring it down, before he started to walk away.

… 

Miko wasn't much of an artist, unless it was in musical arts. But, when an unfamiliar build of motorcycle parked itself right out front of her high school, well, she started trying her best at taking down the image on a bit of scrap paper she managed to fish out of her bag.

“Coolest. Bike. Ever.” she said to herself, looking up at it once again. 

Her phone rang, distracting her for a moment. “Host parents? Ignore.” she said, placing it back in her pocket. When she looked back up again, the motorbike was gone.

However, she saw it speed past out of the corner of her eye, and she ran after it.

…

Jack had ducked down an old disused side street, hoping to keep away from that damned motorbike that kept showing up. But before he could react, it had sped in front of him, turning to face him head on.

“Easy, I just want to talk with you.” Airachnid said

“Don't you mean you and your new friend?” Jack retorted angrily, gesturing at the nondescript rider on the bike.

“Kid, there's a lot that you don't understand.” Airachnid said, trying to keep calm with the stubborn human.

“No its cool, I get it. First rule of robot fight club, is don't talk about robot fight club. But you have to understand that I don't want a bunch of talking vehicles following me around trying to get me killed!”

Airachnid transformed, letting out a heavy vent. “Look. Jack, is it? Your personal safety is exactly why Megatron has requested your presence.”

“Wait, Mega-who?”

“Jack, your safety is at risk because you are one of the few, one of the only who have ever seen us!” Airachnid exclaimed, trying her best to keep some level of composure.

“Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with the cool robo-lady!” Miko exclaimed, as she came out from behind a corner.

“Scrap.” Airachnid said in a tone of annoyance.

As the two Decepticons, who the humans had now learned to be Airachnid and St-3V3, and their human passengers were driving through the middle of nowhere, Airachnid and Jack where having a hard time putting up with Miko, who kept asking questions and screaming in excitement. 

“Remind me, why are we bringing her?” Jack asked.

“Rules.” Airachnid responded.

Soon enough, they had reached the edges of a region of rocky terrain and canyons. As the small convoy drove as if they were to crash into a cliff, a secret door slid open, revealing a tunnel. As they drove through, they eventually exited out the other side, at what appeared to be a fully developed military base. In the middle of the large compound, was a massive spaceship, though clearly it was crash site. Off to one side in an open area, a group of robots similar to St-3 were undergoing some sort of training exercise. In another area, a gathering of trucks and cars were racing around a dirt track, with a few onlookers watching and cheering.

As they drove up to the ship itself, the humans got out of the Decepticons as they transformed.

“Jack, Miko, Raf. Welcome aboard the Nemesis.” Airachnid said, gesturing at the large vessel they stood in front of.

“Yep, home sweet home.” St-3 said with a laugh, as they started their journey to the bridge.

It took a while, as Raf and Miko kept wanting to run off and explore the whole ship, but after a while, they finally reached the bridge. 

The large room was fairly sparse at the time, other than a few Vehicons,there was a tall dark mech with some sort of robotic cat curled around his legs, typing away at a terminal, and two other ones, a large orange and gray one and a pale blue one with red markings, were talking and laughing about something on the other side of the room.

The two from the other side of the room came over first,and started talking with St-3 about something in some unrecognisable language. The robotic cat noticed the new arrivals as well, and strode over to them, curious about them. The tall one looked over as well, at the tree new humans.

“Inquiry: You reported only two human youths?” Soundwave asked.

“Haven't you heard? They multiply.” Airachnid said jokingly.

“Hi, I’m Jack...” the eldest one said.

“I’m Raf.” said the youngest one, waving up at those around them.

“I’m Miko. Who are you?” she asked, walking up to the big orange ‘con nearby.

“Name’s Breakdown.” He replied, a little hesitant at how quickly she asked.

“Are you a car? I bet your a truck, a monster truck! You like heavy music? How much do you weigh? You probably use a wrecking ball. No! A giant hammer?” Miko asked quickly, leaving little room for Breakdown to get a word in.

“So, if your robots, who made you?” Raf asked to noone in particular.

“Ugh, please.” Knockout said indignantly.

Behind them, the door to the bridge opened, as two more Cybertronians stepped in. One was red and silver, and their wings gave away that they could fly. The other one, had a tall and bulky build, but their face seemed calm and friendly. He smiled down at them, before kneeling to talk to them on a better level.

“Greetings, young ones. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. Do not let the name fool you, it was a name given to us by those who opposed us, but we have taken it and stride, and now seek to thwart the deception of others, and defend others from tyranny.” Megatron said.

“Why are you here on Earth?” Jack asked.

“To defend both your world and ourselves from the Autobots.”

“The clowns that tried to bump us off the other day.” Airachnid chimed in.

“Ok, but why are they here too?”

Megatron stood up, and walked over to the central terminal on the bridge. He started pulling up image and video files showing their homeworld of Cybertron.

“In part, because of us. A long time ago, we hid caches of energon and munitions upon the Earth, before humans even came into existence. When we fled our home at the end of our war, we choose to retreat here.”

“Why were you fighting a war?” Raf asked.

“Mainly, we fought over political power and resources. Millions of years ago, a corrupt senate ruled over our home world of Cybertron. They dictated everything to the people, and very few members of society held any power at all. Depending on one’s optic color, frame size, and alternate mode, you would be placed into a caste, and could never move up in the world. In the beginning of the war, I fought alongside one I called brother, a library clerk named Orion Pax. One day, he was granted the ‘honor’ of becoming a Prime, a spiritual and cultural leader of Cybertron and it’s colony worlds. However, the newfound power changed him for the worse, and he split off, founding the Autobots.” Megatron said, stopping on an image of the purple and blue warlord.

“Ok, so you don't want us to talk about this, got it. And you also want to protect us? Great, fine. But something tells me you want something from us, right?” Miko said, now perched atop Breakdown’s shoulder.

“You are correct, Miko. For you see, we are still strangers to this world, very few of us having any interactions with humans, and up until now it has been military and government personnel. What I had in mind was you acting more along the lines as guides for us while we are on your world.” Megatron replied.

The kids looked at each other, in silent contemplation. After a few moments, Jack stepped forward a little. “You can count us in.” he said.

**The Lost Light: Somewhere on Earth’s Moon.**

“You insolent maggot, I can't believe you let the Decepticons escape!” Ultra Magnus yelled, as he kicked the downed Autotrooper once again. “At the very least, you should have stood your ground, and died out there like your fellow Autobot!”

“Lay off him, Magnus.” Rodimus said from his commanders chair on the bridge, as he toyed around with a dagger. “We have to make sure to have as minimal casualties as possible. We can't exactly ask Iacon to send us more troops if we have our afts handed to us and lose everyone.”

Ultra Magnus strode over to Rodimus, leaving the battered Autotrooper on the ground. 

“Well I for one would rather we do something about the Decepticons down on that planet sooner than later. Wipe them out before they can regroup and attack Cybertron.” He said, staring down his commander.

“Wipe them out how exactly? Just wait for them to come out of their hidden base and attack whoever it is at full force?” Rodimus said.

“Ideally, yes.”

Rodimus stood up, waving his knife around nonchalantly. He looked back at the Autotrooper that Magnus had been tormenting, and watched as Bumblebee assisted them out of the bridge, and hopefully to the medbay. Before he left, his black and yellow brother shot him a look that he knew all too well. Rodimus turned abruptly back to Ultra Magnus, who had apparently was still rambling about some great plan of his, and slapped him right across the face-plate.

“You wanted on this mission, so I’ll be putting you to work. You get to be on the next team down to that ‘Con infested rock.” Rodimus said, in an aggressive tone he unintentionally picked up from his sire. 

And with that, he subspaced his dagger, and left the bridge in a hurry. He knew ‘Bee had some choice words for him this time.


	5. Contact Part 2

Rodimus strode down the corridors of the  _ Lost Light _ , dead-set on catching up with his brother. He wasn't in as much of a hurry as he first was, as he figured he knew where, or at least narrowed it down, to where Bumblebee would be. Walking down the corridors of his mighty warship, he admired just how well kept it managed to be, even after all the millennia of war. ‘Yeah, my ship,’ He thought to himself, proudly. Optimus had thought it would be excellent leadership practice for his eldest creation to command his own ship. Of course, convincing Ultra Magnus to ceade one of the Autobots’ most powerful vessels to an inexperienced youth was a challenge, but with his sire pulling a few strings, Rodimus had mostly gotten his way through the ordeal.

As he turned down the next corner of the corridor, he saw just the mech he was looking for. Leaning back against the wall next to the medbay, arms folded across his chest, was Bumblebee. He walked up to him quietly, trying not to startle him, and gently placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“How is the patient fairing?” Rodimus asked, in a more polite tone than usual. Bumblebee simply shrugged, and slid down the wall, resting on the cold metal floor.

***First Aid is doing the best he can, but he said if Magnus had gone on any longer, well, that poor bot wouldn't be online any more…*** he whirred somberly. 

Before he could even continue, Rodimus, in a rare sign of affection, embraced his younger brother. 

“I know it’s been difficult for you, after what that ‘Con did to your voicebox, to see things like that.” Rodimus said, doing his best to calm his younger brother down. He didn't necessarily care if any of the crew caught them like this, most of them have served under the two brothers long enough to understand the full picture. 

***I just don't get why sire keeps that monster around. There are plenty of training dummies down in the rec room, why can't he take his anger out on those, and not his fellow Autobots?*** Bumblebee buzzed, as small drops of cleaner fluid ran down his faceplate. 

“I’m sorry, I know I should have stopped him the moment he raised his voice.” The slightly older mech continued, patting his dismayed brother on the back. They sat in silence for a few more moments, though to them it felt like ages. 

“Now, I have to go take care of arranging the next mission down to the planet. You sure you’ll be fine?” Rodimus asked cautiously as he stood back up. He held out a hand, to which Bumblebee took to help get up.

***Yes, I’m better now.*** he said neutrally.  ***Thank you, for putting up with me. I know it’s not easy sometimes.***

“Hey, no need for thanks. I know that you’d do the same for me. And besides, those sessions with Rung have helped you a lot. I’m sure you'll be back to kicking ‘Con tailpipe in no time.” Rodimus said jovially, as he strode away. 

As the purple mech walked down the halls, he commed a simple message to a certain slaghead SIC.

/You’d better be ready, meet me in the hangar ASAP./

… 

In accordance with Rodimus’ orders, Ultra Magnus had assembled his team and were currently en-route to their target destination on Earth. Onboard what would act as their mobile HQ for the time being, Ultra Magnus’ crew were preparing themselves. Sharpening blades, cleaning blasters, and checking up on themselves, the assembled Autobots were selected because they had all stood out to Ultra Magnus. To his right, piloting the small craft was Wheeljack, his disgruntled but loyal weapons and engineering expert. Somewhere else on board were two more of his finest, that being Bulkhead, whos talents mostly consisted of A, building stuff, and B, breaking it twice as good as anyone else. And his direct subordinate, Seaspray. A fearsome boat-former from the time Cybertron once had water oceans, the old warrior had proven himself time and time again in the heat of battle. These three were the best of Magnus’ old unit, the Wreckers. Other than the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus had brought along a few other Autobots he knew that he could rely upon. That being Cliffjumper, Brawn, Hoist, and Jazz. 

The team’s mission was to secure whatever energon they could find on this out of the way planet. Currently however, they were on their way to some mountain range, where an energon mining operation had already been set up. They didn't worry about being detected, as a combination of the dimness of the late-day sun, and the shuttle’s cloaking technology, would surely prevent detection from anyone’s sensors, human or Cybertronian.

With it having gotten so late into the evening, due to a combination of the kids losing track of time, and the Decepticons still adjusting to a shorter solar cycle, it was time for the kids to be taken back home. That afternood had been mostly spent introducing the humans to as many of the Decepticons that they could, and further answering any questions they had about Cybertron and their history. However, when agent Fowler showed up for an expected visit for on update on the Autobots, he was a little shocked at the presences of three youths, but after much explaining from Megatron, the special agent let the incident slide, so long as they did not get in harm’s way.

Miko practically had to be dragged off the  _ Nemesis _ when it was time for them all to go home. The ride back to her host parent’s place was filled with loud rock music and more questions, now mostly focused on the topic of the ‘Con she as speaking with, Breakdown. 

“So, you and Knockout aren't from Cybertron?” she asked, turning down the music volume to hear his response better. 

“No, we aren't, but I get why you’d be confused by that.”

“Well, yeah!” she exclaimed, “Giant transforming robots don't sound like something that would just happen to exist on multiple planets!”

“A long time ago, Cybertron sent out colony ships to broaden their influence to other worlds, including ours. Velocitron, to be exact. Every speed-freak’s dream, really. Our whole culture is based around racing, and everywhere you went there’s just endless roads and racetracks running off into the horizon, with towns and cities dotted along the busiest routes.”

“That's so cool, but uhh, no offence, you don't seem like much of a speedster yourself.” Miko said questioningly, indicating to heavy-set frame of the Stunticon in question.

Breakdown chuckled at this. “No, your right. Speed was always Knock’s thing, whereas I stuck to off-roading it most of the time. We might not have had such an oppressive caste system as Cybertron did, but Knockout sure started getting some strange looks when we first got together.” Breakdown said, as his mind trailed off on thoughts of times gone by. 

“Woah, dude stop!” Miko shouted, pulling Breakdown out of his trance. He braked hard, screeching to a halt in front of where Miko was staying. 

“Almost went right past it big guy,” she said in a jesting manner.

“Hehe, sorry about that. Got a little distracted.”

“So, where ya’ going next?” Miko asked as she got out of the orange armored truck.

“Nowhere, I’m on curbside duty in case any other Autobots come for you humans.” he replied.

“Well, see ya in the morning big guy.” Miko said, as she walked up to her house, and disappeared from sight.

… 

Raf’s ride home was fairly similar to that of Miko’s, that being it was mostly a matter of getting to know their new guardians. When the conversation inevitably turned to the ‘childhood’ per-say of St-3, Raf was rather shocked with what he found out.

“A drone? That’s what you and the rest of the Vehicons were meant to be?” Raf asked, dismayed at thought of all those individuals he’d met that day originating as cookie-cutter canon fodder.

“Yes, but thankfully that’s not how things turned out for us.” St-3 said reassuringly. “Sure, we all look alike, but every single one of us has some sort of tell, something that makes them unique. For most of us, we either have some sort of decals, like what you would call a tattoo. Some of us, myself included, go all-in on a new paint job we like. Rarest that I’ve seen though, are the few who get their frames changed entirely. Making themselves bigger, smaller, I wouldn't be surprised if at one point they tried to make a Vehicon combiner.”

“So, what about your names? They are all just your batch numbers, has anyone chosen a ‘real’ name?” Raf asked.

St-3 pondered on this for a moment. He had never put much thought into giving himself a new name, as most everybot knew him, and during wartime it would get confusing to change one’s designation, especially of a commanding officer.

“How about it then, a new name that is.” he said after a while. “Got any suggestions, Raf?”

“Well, in some shorthand and informal text messaging, ‘3’ is sometimes a substitute for an ‘E’, making your name ‘Steve’.” Raf replied, finding the idea of an alien taking on a human name funny.

“Steve, huh? I gotta say, I like the sound of it. And not too far off from my old name, either. Steve it is then.” the newly-renamed Steve replied, jovially.

The rest of their ride was filled with further talks on how Earth culture and society functioned, along with similarities and contrasts with Cybertron.

… 

Quiet. That was how one would describe Jack’s ride back home. Other than the sound Airachnid’s engine, and the rumble of her tyres on the asphalt, not much else was to be heard from either of the two. Out over the distant hills, the not-quite-yet-setting sun shone bright across the desert landscape, it’s rays bathing everything in a sheen of golden orange.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” Airachnid spoke up, unsure what else to say in the given situation. Jack looked confused for a moment, until he looked off and saw the bright light’s radiance. 

“Oh, yeah, sunsets are always pretty nice around this time of year.” Jack replied, not picking up on Airachnid’s mood towards it.

“I’ll never get tired of seeing it. Reminds me of home.” she replied, in a longing manner.

“Oxygen filled atmospheres always give off the best ones, really. The way the light danced and shimmered across the various colored metals and crystal formations of Cybertron is- no,  _ was _ a sight to behold.” she continued, more melancholic now.

“Wait, what? Your planet had an atmosphere? I mean, I know most planets do, but like, with air and ozone and all that stuff?”

“Yes, Cybertron did have what you humans would consider to be a ‘breathable’ atmosphere. And yes we do breathe, kind of. At the end of the day, we are machines, so our internal workings have to be kept cool. Venting, as we call it, allows us to cycle out fresh air, so that our coolant does not go stale.”

“And you said something about Cybertron not being that way anymore?” Jack continued.

“Our weapons are far more destructive than anything you humans have made, and we were using them for four million years. Whole continental regions might never fully recover. You humans would probably die if you tried to breathe back home.” Airachnid replied, in a matter-of-factly tone.

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, until they finally arrived at Jack’s house. As they pulled into the driveway, jack pulled out his remote, and the garage door opened, and they drove inside.

“Roomy.” Airachnid commented, observing the mostly empty garage.

“Yeah, well, make yourself at home I guess.” Jack said, walking over to a worktable and set down his helmet, then closed the garage door.

Airachnid transformed, stretching out her limbs as much as she could confines of the garage.

“Let me guess, a minimalist? Never seen a garage so empty.” Airachnid asked, curiously.

“Mom is, I guess. Doesn't hold onto anything she doesn't want for too long,” Jack replied.

Just then, the sound of a car could be heard pulling up into the driveway.

“And speak of the devil…” Jack said, amused.

“I’ll make myself scarce then.” Airachnid said, transforming back into her alt-mode.

The garage door started to open, revealing a beige colored sedan now parked in the driveway. A woman with black hair, nurse’s scrubs, and a bit taller than Jack, stepped out of the car.

“Jack? What is that… ” June said, eyeing her son as he ran up to her.

“Mom, don't panic. I can explain.” Jack said hurriedly.

“Can you?” she said, as she strode up next to the white and gray motorcycle. She kneeled down next to it, looking it over intently. “Jackson Darby, I did not expect this from you. I worry about you enough when you’re not here, now I have to worry about you driving a motorcycle?”

Jack sighed, saying, “I’m sixteen, I can't be riding a ten-speed forever.”

“How did you even afford this?”

“Um, it’s used. It’s, abused really. Needs a ton of repairs…” Jack continued, as he walked back over to the worktable, picking up his helmet.

“I may have been a kid when I bought this, but I’m not anymore. You always tell me to make responsible choices, so I chose her.” he said, as they both stood next to the motorcycle. “And I’ll be responsible. I promise.” 

“Her? I didnt think youd be bringing home girls just yet.”

“I’d like to think she brought me.”

“Well, I’m glad your starting to be responsible. You’ll be good enough for the adult world soon enough.” June said with a laugh.

“I still have a few more years I have to cross that bridge.” Jack said, turning to enter the house.

“You go on ahead, I have some things I have to get out of the car first.” June said, as she turned back. However, all she got out of her car was an old toolbox. She set it down on the garage floor, and opened it up. She grabbed a flashlight, and went back to the motorcycle. Checking the space between the body and the front wheel, she found what she was after; the bright red Decepticon insignia. 

June couldn't help but laugh a little, though still making sure she wasn't heard, as she put everything away again. Before she went inside, she whispered something to the motorcycle. 

“Take care of him, ‘Nid. Or I just might scrap you myself.” June said, lightheartedly.

The next day, it was a Saturday. The kids were excited at this, because it meant that they got to spend the whole day hanging out with the ‘Cons. However, things at the  _ Nemesis _ were very much different from how it was yesterday. It was as if it was a day off for them as well. Most of the Decepticons were either in their personal quarters, lounging in the various common rooms, or even just goofing around outside. Even the Constructicons had stopped their work on repairing the exterior of the warship for the day.

However, a small group of ‘Cons and humans were up to something. In one of the empty corners of the fairly spacious bridge, Steve and Breakdown were working on setting up an elevated platform and a set of catwalks so that the humans could be closer to level with them. On his laptop, Raf had opened pictures of various buildings and monuments around the world, as the two Cybertronians had little knowledge of construction.

“So, this ‘I-Fell Tower thing, is it some sort of antenna?” Breakdown asked curiously, as he placed another steel beam into position.

“‘Eiffel’, and it does have an antenna on top, but it was originally built for the World’s Fair as the tallest structure in the world. Funny thing is, they didn't expect it to be set up permanently.” Raf said with a laugh.

Sitting on top one of the supply crates, Miko looked up from where she was practicing on her guitar. “We have something similar back home, called the Tokyo Tower, but it’s not as big. You guys should totally visit Tokyo someday, I can be your tour guide. It’s a huge metropolis, just like the ones you described on Cybertron!” she said. In her excitement at the thought of showing the Decepticons around, she accidentally flung her arm across her guitar, and a horrible screeching noise emanating from her amp. Everyone on the bridge, except for Soundwave of course, was stricken with annoyance at this, especially a certain slacking seeker.

Skywarp bolted upright from where he had been sleeping away, face-down on his terminal’s keypad. The purple seeker snapped his head around to see where that racket was coming from, but when he saw Miko cringing in embarrassment, his expression gave way to a grin.

“Look Miko, don't get me wrong, I like your tunes. But I can barely walk as it is, I’d rather not be deaf, too!” He said, jokily waving his walking cane in her direction.

Suddenly, an alarm went off, and Soundwave flinched back in excitement at what the scanners had picked up. Laserbeak chirped in excitement from her perch atop the terminal’s monitor. Skywarp also let out a cheer after checking what had appeared on his monitor.

“What's going on? Alarms aren't usually something to be so excited over.” Jack said, uncertain of what had gotten into them. 

Soundwave turned around, and on his facial screen, a 3-D image of a glowing blue cube appeared. “Energon located.” he said, for once his synthesised voice taking on a more gleeful tone.

“Woah, that's great!” Steve exclaimed, “Our reserves weren't gonna last forever.”

Timely as ever, considering Soundwave always had the sense to alert Megatron, and the fact that his quarters are just down the hall, the big man in silver entered onto the bridge.

“Soundwave, how certain are you of these findings?” Megatron asked, cutting straight to the point, not even noticing the humans nearby.

“Margin of Error: Beneath 1%.” Soundwave said. 

“If it really is one of the old energon caches we sent here, why is it appearing just now?” Breakdown asked.

“Conclusion: Revealed by landslides.” Soundwave replied, as his mask showed a satellite image of a seemingly collapsed mountain.

“Considering this is our first detection of energon on this world since our arrival, we must not miss this opportunity.” Megatron said. He then turned to Breakdown and Steve, “Come, we ready ourselves. For if we have located this energon, I have no doubts the Autobots will have as well.” he continued, as he strode towards the door to leave.

“Skywarp, I trust you will have no problem watching over our human friends?”

“Hey, no problem boss! Screamer’s always saying how childish I am, so I’m sure I’m best qualified to handle the kids for a while.” Skywarp said. 

Megatron also commed Starscream and Airachnid, requesting that they come along in case an Autobot presence arrives.

Megatron and his assembled team of Decepticons stepped out of the swirling vortex of the ground bridge, finding themselves faced with a large range of mountains, surrounded by a vast forest. Luckily for them, there was no human settlement nearby to notice the anomaly of a mountain caving in on itself.

“Spread out, and report anything unusual.” Megatron said, as he motioned for Starscream to come with him. Steve and Airachnid went for the other side of the ridge, leaving Breakdown to investigate the hole at the top of the mountain.

“Welp, better get hiking then.” he said to himself, as he began his ascent.

… 

As Megatron and Starscream made their way around the mountain, the side where the landslide had come down, their handheld energon scanners started to go off. Starscream sifted through the debris of the large mound of earth and gravel, and picked up a small, dark blue crystal. Not needing his scanner, he held it up to the sun. The few lines and cracks simmered in the light.

“Very pure, practically high-grade in a raw form.” the red seeker said.

“Ah yes, of course. I sometimes forget that you are a mech of science as well.” Megatron mused.

“That was before the war. However, I see no downside in staying sharp in all my skill sets.” Starscream said with a smirk, proud of his intellect. 

The two kept checking over the runoff for a while, until something caught Megatron’s optic. He dug out some of the dirt with his hands, and pulled out a handheld drill. 

“It would appear that we are not alone here.” He said, as he showed it to Starscream.

…

Airachnid and Steve were stuck traversing through much rougher terrain than what they had anticipated. Here, the forest was more dense, and large rocky outcroppings made it even more difficult to maneuver around, especially for beings of their size. As they slowly trudged through the terrain, their silence slowly turned to conversation.

“So…” Airachnid said, trying her best at this point. “How have you been?”

Steve cocked his head, finding the question rather odd. 

“Uh, good, I guess? Yeah, great even! All of us for the first time in half a century are united. The best of the ‘Cons, together at last and all that, ya know? Also glad to see you managing fine. And meeting Raf, Jack, and Miko has been great too. I tell ya, if they weren't so small and squishy, I might have just tried to recruit them on the spot.” Steve said joyfully. 

“And what about you?” the blue vehicon continued. “No offence, but you can sometimes get a little on edge.”

“I like to think I’m doing well. Sure, I have my less desirable moments, but don't we all? After all, Starscream is a prime example of being both a nervous wreck and charismatic.”

The two of them had a laugh at their SIC’s expense, who nearly worked himself to exhaustion under any form of pressure.

“There was also that time Megatron forced him to take a vacation, whilst we were in the middle of a battle!” Airachnid continued.

“No matter how great of a warrior he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he just slipped into recharged for a whole year once this is all over.” Steve said with a laugh.

As they wandered on for a few more minutes, the trees started to thin out as they drew closer to the cliffside. And soon enough, they had stepped out into a clearing, where they could see a cave, drillmarks making it apparent that it wasn't natural. 

Airachnid acted fast, activating her comms. “Megatron, we found something”

…

“Excellent work you two, we shall be over as soon as we can. Breakdown, how goes your investigation?”

“Reaching the top now, gonna get a closer look at this big sinkhole. I’ll keep ya updated.” the large orange mech said.

Needless to say, he was fairly winded when he reached the top of the mountain, and had a hard time keeping his venting to a minimum over the comms. After a few moments of rest, he carefully walked up to the edge of the sinkhole. Peering down, his optics went wide at what he saw. It may have been a long way down, but the paint scheme of the Autotroopers was easy to recognise. He went further ever so slightly, as he reached back to grab his binoculars to better survey the situation. 

Activating his comms, he said “Ok, I've reached the sinkhole, and you aren't gonna like it. The place is crawling with AutobOTSSS!” he cried, as the ground shifted beneath him, sending him falling into the cavern below.

He landed with a hard thud, landing on something metal probably. In his dazed state, he looked around at the vast mining operation that the Autobots had set up.

A tall, beige and black mech strode over to him.

“Hello, Decepticon. Nice of you to drop in.” Ultra Magnus said with an evil grin.


End file.
